The City Council adopted the East Main Street Design Strategy on July 1, 2002, creating a framework to dramatically change the character of East Main Street. The Strategy affects the area of East Main from Valley Avenue east, nearly to 160th Avenue. This exciting street design will slow traffic, make it safer for pedestrians and change the character of the street to be more like the Historic Downtown.
Elements of East Main Street
- New buildings set up against the sidewalk with zero setback on the sides
- Joint parking areas to the rear of the buildings
- On-street parking allowed along certain areas on Main Street
- Reduced number of driveways
- Widened sidewalks
- Street trees and streetlights similar to Historic Downtown.
These changes will take place slowly over time and will be funded to a large degree by new development or renovation. The Starbucks buildings, Fred Meyer and the bank are the first projects to implement the Strategy and give an example of things to come.
The Strategy was adopted after a year of working with the public, property owners and businesses. In 2003 the Strategy was amended to remove one of the main “combined driveway” locations, and in 2006 it was amended to clarify and expand the East Main Street area.